Chelsea boss Antonio Conte relishing first taste of Boxing Day football

ANTONIO CONTE hates Christmas shopping.

So, do not ask the Chelsea manager if he fancies a winter break from football like they have back home in Italy.

No thanks.

Rather than pushing the shopping trolley through the crowds and queuing at the busy tills, Conte would far rather be putting out the cones and handing out the bibs on the training field.

Sorry, Mrs Conte.

And as for the Boxing Day sales? Bring on Bournemouth at home please...

In Italy’s Serie A in April, the clubs voted to keep their three week long winter break. In Germany’s Bundesliga, they stop for a one or two months and in France’s Ligue 1, the clubs break for a month.

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Antonio Conte is relishing Chelsea's fixture pile up

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This is the first experience for me and my family of playing football at this time of year. It can be, and I hope it will be, a fantastic experience

Antonio Conte

But not in England.

Chelsea go into the Christmas/New Year period six points clear at the top of the Premier League table and facing a spell of three matches in 10 days and Conte is loving it.

Wife Elisabetta and daughter Vittoria arrived in England yesterday to have a family Christmas with papa (between training sessions, obviously).

Conte said: “I don’t like shopping. My wife does that. She is a fantastic person. I don’t like going to the shops. My wife spends the right money, not a lot of money.

“My wife and daughter arrived yesterday to prepare to celebrate Christmas at my house with my brothers, my parents and the family. I think that’s very good.

“This is the first experience for me and my family of playing football at this time of year. It can be, and I hope it will be, a fantastic experience.

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Chelsea extended their winning run to 11 games with a 1-0 win over Crystal Palace last week

“It’s very strange for us. In this period, in Italy, we are used to going on holiday for a week. Sometimes we went to Lecce, sometimes Torino, once we went in Dubai. But it’s important for me, at Christmas, to stay with my family. You have to celebrate Christmas with the family. It’s not important where you stay but it’s important to stay together with your family.”

As for packing football in for a month?

The Chelsea manager said: “I always lived this experience when I stayed in Italy, with the winter break.

“I heard a lot of coaches in England saying you should stop and have a winter break. Fabio Capello always said when he was the England coach that the lack of a winter break penalised the national team.

“It’s very difficult to reply to this question. The atmosphere in this period is very difficult to find in any other period.

“It’s fantastic. It’s very difficult for me to say if it’s positive or negative to play during the Christmas period. For me, it’s my first experience and I’m very happy to have it.”

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Michy Batshuayi could start for Chelsea against Bournemouth

Chelsea will be without top scorer Diego Costa and key midfielder N’Golo Kante against Bournemouth on Boxing Day, both suspended after picking up their fifth bookings of the season.

Conte could draft Belgian striker Michy Batshuayi, 23, into his attack but the Italian said: “I spoke with Michy, I said that it’s not easy to arrive and play in this league, above all if you are a young player arriving in a new country.

“It’s difficult for me, and for a young player also. It’s such a tough league, very physical, very strong. But Michy is working very well. We must have patience with him, work with him and try and help him improve.

“Then the next step is for him to play more this season. But I repeat: it’s not easy to adapt to this league and arrive here and play straight away.”

Batshuayi is yet to start a Premier League game this season after arriving from Marseille in the summer for a £33 million fee. Chelsea have already turned down a request from West Ham, who they pipped for his signing, to take the striker on loan for the rest of the season.